Influence of digital econmy on regional tourism competitiveness /Zhiwei Wang

Dissertation

College of Liberal Arts (CLA) Doctor of Management Science (DMS) Technological University of the Philippines 2022

"The tourism industry has a strategic position in the development of the national economy of China, not only to meet people's spiritual needs and life needs, but also to provide a way to realize the simple production and expansion and reproduction of the material goods production sector. The scale of China's tourism industry has expanded significantly in recent years, but there are still problems such as uneven regional development and unbalanced development of the comprehensive competitiveness index of the tourism industry, and the supply-side structural reform of the tourism industry has a long way to go. The digital economy, as an innovative factor of production, is becoming an important force driving the factor resources, economic structure and competitive landscape of industries at an unprecedented rate. How does the digital economy affect the provincial competitiveness of the tourism industry in the context of digital transformation?
Within the framework of Porter's diamond model, Buckley's (1994) dynamic theory and Crouch's (1999) competitiveness model, this study drew on the measurement system adopted in the tourism competitiveness index of each country published by the World Economic Forum since 2007, and constructed a system containing tourism development resource conditions, tourism service support guarantees. Firstly, we measured the provincial competitiveness of the tourism industry by using the provincial panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2001 to 2017, using the time-series global principal component analysis method; secondly, we analyzed the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of the provincial competitiveness of tourism industry by using the ArcGis software. on this basis, we further constructed a panel data regression model. Based on this, a panel data regression model, a panel data mediating effect model with moderation and a panel data threshold effect model are further constructed to explore the path and boundary of enhancing the provincial competitiveness of the tourism industry from the perspective of the digital economy development, and to explore the mediating effect mechanism and moderation effect mechanism of influence from the perspective of urbanization level and human capital development level.
These findings show that: firstly, the spatial pattern of the provincial competitiveness of the tourism industry in China is characterized by high in the southeast and low in the northwest, with a ""rugby ball"" shape, and the shape of the rugby ball becomes increasingly flattened over time; secondly, the development of the digital economy can significantly enhance the provincial competitiveness of tourism industry, and the enhancement effect is significantly heterogeneous in the east, central and west. There is obvious heterogeneity, and the impact of digital economy development on the provincial competitiveness of the tourism industry has a double threshold effect; third, the level of urbanization plays a mediating effect in the impact of the digital economy on the provincial competitiveness of tourism industry, and the level of human capital plays a moderating effect in the impact of the digital economy on the provincial competitiveness of tourism industry. Therefore, this article proposed the following policy recommendations. First, to further promote the development of the digital economy, connect the resources of the eastern region to the central and western regions, and guide the balanced development of digital enterprises among the eastern, central and western regions. Second, to continue to promote the development process of urbanization and promote the structural adjustment of urbanization level among regions. Third, to deepen education reform, promote education equalization, and facilitate structural adjustment of human capital levels between regions. Author's abstract"